MINUTES OF ACADEMIC COUNCIL MEETING

Transcription

1 MINUTES OF ACADEMIC COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, December 3, 2002 Members Present: C. Lajeunesse E. Aspevig S. Williams S. Boctor T. Knowlton J. Cook K. Alnwick C. Matthews L. Grayson M. Verticchio G. Inwood B. Yoon M. Creery B. Abalos R. Rodrigues T. Nguyen J. Dianda M. Yeates D. Martin B. Jackson D. Heyd A. Pevec K. Marciniec A. Cross V. Berkeley G. Meti M. Dowler D. McKessock D. Snyder M. Koc E. Trott C. Cassidy J. Monro M. Mazerolle D. Smith S. Kumar J. Welsh D. Elder P. George K. Raahemifar G. Turcotte S. Cody A. Lohi C. Desouza M. Booth F. Salustri M. Barber L. Lum G. Roberts-Fiati K. Tucker Scott A. Tam M. Potter R. Kup Members Absent: I. Levine S. Sutherland R. Fleming G. Cressy L. Merali M. McCrae A. Furman Regrets: R. Ravindran J. Sandys S. Marshall M. Dewson 1. President's Report

2 Katherine Penny has received the 2002 Pinnacle Award for Educator of the Year from Hotelier Magazine. She will be honored at a luncheon on December 6. MTCU has given consent to 22 new applied degree programs to be offered by community colleges. Copies of the list of these programs can be obtained from the Secretary of Academic Council. The Theatre School was commended for its three recent productions. Members are encouraged to attend future productions. The National Innovation and Learning Summit, held on November 18-19, was co-chaired by President Lajeunesse. Stephen Liss attended from Ryerson. Jane Stewart and Allan Rock attended and Ms. Stewart delivered an address from the Prime Minister, who was unable to attend due to snow. The address outlined the government s expectation and commitment to universities as they pertain to the Innovation Agenda. It committed the government to increased funding of graduate studies. Canadian Universities have agreed to double their research efforts and triple their commercialization performance. Ryerson is well positioned to adapt to the innovation agenda. Dr. Michael Doucet, who is ending his term as President of the RFA, was not in attendance, but it was noted that he has been a regular attendee at Academic Council and has intervened in a positive and constructive manner. The President thanked him for his contributions. He is wished well and was applauded by the members. The President s Seasonal Party will be held on Monday December 9, from 3:00-5:30 in the Commons. The December 6 Memorial will be held in the Quad at noon. The President expressed his regret at being unable to attend this year. Update on Academic Planning Errol Aspevig Three general meetings have been held and there has been a separate consultation with the Business School. Issues which have arisen are: Budget and potential reallocation of funds Maintaining and enhancing the quality of programs Need to build on Ryerson s history and strengths Need not to develop a one-size-fits-all model Need to move on with SRC and selectively with graduate programs Need to recognize different strengths within the professoriate in terms of teaching and SRC Continue to respect the Scholarship and Creativity in SRC Need to understand studio and practice courses, and not lose fundamental strengths The Vice President is working on a draft academic plan, to be distributed later this month. Ultimately a process for the development and updating of the academic plan, as well as processes for budget and infrastructure planning, will be developed and distributed. The current focus is on the draft academic plan itself. The target date for the final version of the plan and associated processes is March Report of the Secretary of Academic Council The Secretary made the following corrections to the agenda: Page 38 (distributed) is amended and should be replaced. Pages are duplicates of page 49. Page 52 (distributed) has been amended and should be replaced. 2

3 Page 55b (distributed) is an additional form from Interior Design. There is a supplemental report from the Academic Standards Committee (distributed). There will be follow-up discussions and activities based upon the responses to the Academic Integrity Survey. Guidelines and timelines for elections to Academic Council were announced. 3. The Good of the University Vice Chair Darrick Heyd Ombudsperson s report - Nora Farrell stated that she is required to annually report to the Ryerson community on her activities. She does this by reporting to Academic Council and distributing her report through one of the student newspapers. Her report is included in the agenda and she outlined its basic components. Follow up to last year s report and the response. There was a recommendation for increased student advisement. The Task Force on Student Success and Retention discussed this need and made recommendations. Tables 1-4 present information on this year s complaints Subsequent tables give comparative data with previous years. Concerns for this year, and the University s response to those concerns, are included. The Ombudsperson has been active in consultation on University policy development. There is an Ombudsperson committee which was acknowledged. The cooperation of the staff and faculty who respond to calls was acknowledged. The Ombudsperson does not form an opinion until she has investigated a situation. The Ombudsperson is grateful when consulted about making fair decisions. It is unreasonable to assume that everyone knows the principles of natural justice and fairness. The courage of people who brought forward complaints was acknowledged. Some people state that in their country of origin, it is not always safe to complain. Discussion: Recommendation 1: It was suggest that there be alumni representation on the committee on civility. Recommendation 2: Lack of professionalism related to timely responses to voice and e- mail: Responses are difficult as there is a rising expectation and diminishing ability to respond. It was one member s view that faculty will be busy marking papers, and that some faculty who share computers and phones may find it difficult to respond in a way that students think is reasonable. The issue of student 24-hour access to faculty was also raised. It may be becoming an unreasonable demand. The University needs to explore limits on the student access to faculty. Although there may be an abundance of requests for responses, faculty are urged to prioritize. If someone is not going to be available, they should leave a voice mail or message response to that affect. Working groups need to determine what a reasonable length of time for a response is. There does need to be adequate infrastructure to support faculty in their ability to respond. General Discussion John Cook suggested that there is a lack of reflection time during the Fall semester. He finds that students are frustrated about the constraints on their time, including the need for part-time jobs. The semesterization of programs establishes a curriculum where a year of work is put into 13 weeks. It was suggested that a reading week be added to the Fall semester (perhaps in November), as there is in the Winter semester. There is a serious issue of fairness. A course 3

4 taken in the Winter has a week built in that the Fall term does not. There was support for the 12- week semester and the concept of providing students more time for independent study or vacation. It was suggested that a variety of options be explored including a four-day weekend break, instead of a full week. It was asked if there is a legal impediment to moving to a 12-week semester. It is possible to designate one of the weeks of the 13-week semester as a week away from classes. The week could be either mid-semester or before exams. Keith Alnwick responded that this would require that classes start the week before Labour Day or that the University move to a 12-week semester. This should be discussed as a community, and he will bring the issue to the Deans. In response to a comment made about students using a study week to vacation in Cuba, Elizabeth Trott noted that the University of Havana, where she just attended a conference, has very poor conditions. The people in Cuba are managing to educate with chalk, and she suggested that people consider reducing their use of technology in their presentations. This culture uses too much technology, and it is a waste of resources. Ken Marciniec reported that the student Metropass has been issued as a result of RyeSAC working with other student unions. The pass will be available to students at colleges or universities and may be extended to faculty and staff. There is a $12/month savings. The passes should be ready for September Ryan Rodrigues announced that there would be a farewell party on Friday for Gordon Cressy who is leaving at the end of December. Andrew Noble reported from the floor that RyeSAC was asked to work on issues related to Academic Integrity in conjunction with the AI Project. There have been two posters developed addressing the idea of misconduct so that students and faculty know the process and the perils involved. Posters were made available and members were asked to put them up on doors, etc. 4. Minutes of the November 5, 2002 Meeting Motion to approve the minutes: Moved by A. Pevec, seconded by J. Welsh. 5. Business arising out of the Minutes - Policy #155 Approval of Collaborative Academic Program Agreements was re- presented to Academic Council. Motion: That Academic Council approve Policy 155, Approval of Collaborative Academic Program Agreements. Moved by S. Williams, seconded by A. Pevec. Discussion: It should be recognized that insuring that courses are available also involves having sufficient faculty available. This is a resource issue. 6. Correspondence There was no correspondence. 7. Reports of Actions and Recommendations of Departmental and Divisional Councils Errol Aspevig presented the reports, with the changes as noted in the Report of the Secretary of Academic Council. All of the reports have proper approvals. Some course change forms 4

5 were submitted late due to the December deadline for inclusion in the Calendar. The following were presented: Course additions in Geography Course deletions in Psychology Course changes in School of Business Management Course changes in Retail Management Course changes in Image Arts Course changes in Interior Design (Addition of page 55b) Course addition in Disability Studies Change in Nursing program requirements (Post RN Degree) Course changes in Nursing Course changes in Nutrition (access to Human Resources Minor) Introduction of Preparatory/Remedial Mathematics course -(MTH 128) Stalin Boctor reported that this course was being implemented in response to suggestions made in the report of the Task Force on Student Success and Retention. This math course will provide immediate help for students who need better math skills and will improve their success. The course is not a requirement, but will allow a review of important tools for calculus and algebra before the first calculus course is taken. Implementation has been discussed with the Registrar and the Director of Admissions. There will be a proficiency test and those who pass will continue in the regular program. Students will be advised of this before they accept an admissions offer, and it has been suggested that everyone offered admission be given an example of the proficiency exam. The Faculty hopes to reduce the failure rate in math and other courses in first year. A question was raised about the OAC calculus requirement for admission to Ryerson and whether students already know the material outlined in the new course. It was agreed that students should know this material, and that students should be able to pass the proficiency test if they passed OAC calculus. However, there is a high failure in math. The proposed course provides a chance to review the material. There was a question as to why students are admitted if they are lacking grades in math. There will be a proposed change in admission requirements submitted. Students who appear to have solid grades in math courses still do not necessarily succeed. Course changes in Chemistry, Biology & Chemical Engineering Course changes in Electrical Engineering Correction: DST 503 on page 59 should read DST 504. It was requested that the Course Change Forms be modified so that there is a place to indicate other departments which are affected, particularly service departments. Errol Aspevig noted that the form had already been revised by the Secretary of Academic Council, and that the proposed change would be reviewed. 8. Reports of Committees 8.1 Awards & Ceremonials Committee Report (#F ) - Diane Schulman presented the report. The criteria for the Ryerson Gold Medal were revised by the committee to be more inclusive of part-time students. Separate medals will now be awarded for Arts and Community Services. Each Faculty and CE will need to form a committee. 5

6 8.2 Academic Standards Committee (#F ) Errol Aspevig presented all motions, and Vice Chair Ron Goldsmith presented the reports. Motion 1: That Academic Council approve the introduction of the degree-completion program option in Urban and Regional Planning for implementation in Summer, Seconded by S. Williams The post-diploma option is to allow students from Fanshawe and Mohawk colleges to complete degrees. The proposal is the final part of a submission last year from Urban and Regional Planning. The school has addressed many issues from their program review and has established a variety of routes to earn the degree. The potential for the learning environment are extraordinary Motion 2: That Academic Council approve the proposed changes in Public Administration. Seconded by C Cassidy The first part of the changes was submitted on course change forms. The second part is changes to the minor. The third is the offering of tailored courses for the First Nations program. Students could access either version, as the courses are equivalent. This was acceptable to the Committee as there were only a few tailored courses offered. Corrections: POL508 is both under deletions and revisions to minor. (This course has been deleted.) PPA701 is noted as having a prerequisite of PPA701. It was noted that the courses are offered in intensive mode to aboriginal communities throughout Ontario. Motion 3: That Academic Council approve the proposed course hour changes in Food and Nutrition. Seconded by S. Williams These changes had to come to Academic Council because it represented a change in hours. These changes are necessary. Motion 4: That Academic Council approve the Major in Entrepreneurship. Second by T. Knowlton The major is a logical extension of the activity of the past few years, since the institution of the minor. The Committee s only concern was that students in the minor have access to courses that students in the major cannot yet access. Have asked that other Professionally Related Electives be made available, and this will be explored in collaboration with other schools. The proposal is a sound extension of current activity in School of Business Management 6

7 Motion 5.1: That Academic Council approve the revised Minor in Accounting. Seconded by J. Monro Motion passed Motion 5.2: That Academic Council approve the revised Minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Second by T. Knowlton This is an interesting curriculum for a minor as it is very multidisciplinary. ENT 727 should be Applied Research in Entrepreneurship. Motion 5.3: That Academic Council approve the revised Finance Minor. Seconded by D. Smith These changes would normally be on course change forms, but it is included with packet of Minor changes from Business. 8.3 ASC Report F (Supplemental) Motion: That Academic Council approve the proposed curriculum revisions to the program in Early Childhood Education. Seconded by S. Williams This is the first in a series of proposals from ECE. It represents a major curriculum change. It was accompanied by a degree completion program with George Brown, which is not yet complete. There is also a plan to determine whether to offer a B.Ed. option. The number of courses has been lowered from 45 to 40. The proposal sequences and package courses differently and presents year-by-year learning objectives. It is a move from a mixed yearlong program to a completely semesterized program. It fits the rules and guidelines of the tripartite curriculum. There is a loss of some course content. The number of professional courses drops and the professionally related category drops to six courses. Liberal studies courses remain intact. All the professionally related electives are not listed. Motion: That Academic Council approve the Certificate Program in Food Security. Seconded by J. Welsh. This certificate is interesting as it represents collaboration between Nutrition with the Centre for Food Security Studies, is delivered by CE and involves International Studies. The entire curriculum is offered in distributive mode. It is expected that there will be external partnerships involved in the delivery. 7

8 The proposers were commended as students have had to go to the US for such courses. Motion: That Academic Council approve the changes proposed for Information Technology Management Seconded by A. Pevec. There is a change in GPA requirement for the co-op program, moving to 2.80 as a minimum, which reflects current practice. Changes to ITM professionally related elective category reflects changes made in Public Administration. Motion passed There will be a number of items to the January meeting. Normally December is the last meeting for changes for Fall 2003, but ASC has not yet completed work on these. Errol Aspevig thanked Ron Goldsmith and the committee for an extraordinary amount of work this fall. The proposals can be passed with confidence. He commented that Ron had made his presentation without benefit of any notes. S. Williams commended the committee on the quality of the questions it raised on items brought before it and the extraordinary analysis. 9. New Business There was no new business 10. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, (signature on file) Diane R. Schulman, PhD Secretary of Academic Council 8